Great Bear Lake - Van Buren County MI

Great Bear Lake
Van Buren County MI
149 acres
ID 80-51

Use the navigation bar in the upper left corner of the map to zoom in and zoom out on Great Bear Lake. You can see satellite images of Great Bear Lake by clicking on "Satellite" or "Hybrid" in the upper right corner of the map.

Use your mouse to get GPS coordinates for any spot on Great Bear Lake. Simply click and drag the red arrow to the spot you are interested in and the geocodes (latitude + longitude) will appear in the boxes above - it's that easy!

Great Bear Lake Association has monitored the quality and elevations of the dam for over 20 years. These issues and others such as weed control and boating safety are discussed and acted on at the annual meeting held at the Van Buren Youth Camp in July. For more information about these matters, residents and those interested in purchasing property on the best inland lake in Michigan are invited to visit the association website at mlswa.org/GreatBearLake-320/HotTopics.html
Deb Berkey (09-04-2008)

As a property owner on the east side of the lake, I have noticed through the years that the lake level has receeded at an alarming rate. I realize that SW Michigan has experienced roughly a twenty (20) year drought. However, as property owners on the east side of Great Bear Lake (the side with the more gradual grade) extend their piers out further into the lake in order to launch watercraft such as pontoon boats, there could be safety issues on the horizon as people traverse through the channel from the smaller part of the lake. It has been alleged that the dam, both the first construction as well as the second construction, was not surved correctly insofar as elevation. I have proof of where the lake level elevation used to be! I really believe something needs to be done to address the lake level issue before a possible accident occurrs this summer as people launch watercraft with ever smaller distances. Also, the property values on the east side of the lake may also be adversely affe
Greg Palmer (02-13-2008)

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